Hunting blue wildebeest South Africa

Blue wildebeest scientific name: Connochaetes taurinus

Hunting blue wildebeest South Africa with Mkulu African Hunting Safaris is a plains game hunting experience to look forward to. Our blue wildebeest hunting opportunities are becoming extremely popular because of the effort involved from both the hunter and the Professional Hunting Guide when hunting blue wildebeest in South Africa.

When you decide to hunt a blue wildebeest, you may want to consider hunting a black wildebeest as they make strikingly different trophies once mounted by the taxidermist.

Blue wildebeest are also known as gnu, and brindled wildebeest.

Blue wildebeest are also commonly referred to as: The Poor Man’s Buffalo.

The strikingly dark blue body has a number of very dark vertical stripes down the flanks of the body. Hence the derived name of brindled gnu. Blue wildebeest have a mane on the top of the neck from where the longer strands flow down the side of the neck.

General information

Both wildebeest bulls and cows have horns that extend sideways from the side of the head and curve up at the tips. The bulls have more mass on the horns at the boss and are generally wider than the cows.

Solitary bulls defending a specific territory are not uncommon. These bulls are highly territorial and deserved to claim their own piece of real estate. Cow- and calf herds can move freely between these territories from where these bulls will mate with receptive cows. Bulls old enough to be competing for breeding rights will be evicted violently from their specific territory.

There are a number of sub-species of blue wildebeest, of which the best known would be the migratory herds, number several hundred thousand at a time, in the Serengeti and Masai Mara regions of Tanzania and Kenya.

Blue wildebeest are not an endangered species and occurs widely in South and southern Africa, moving up to the south-central parts of Africa.

Information on hunting blue wildebeest South Africa

Blue wildebeest hunting price

The cost for hunting blue wildebeest South Africa for the 2019 hunting season is $ 1 100.

Our blue wildebeest hunting prices South Africa are set for 2019.

Best caliber for hunting blue wildebeest

The best caliber for hunting blue wildebeest in South Africa would be a medium bore rifle that you can shoot accurately and feel comfortable using.

Mkulu African Hunting Safaris suggests the following calibers as being the best calibers for hunting blue wildebeest in South Africa:

7 mm Rem Mag

308

30-06

300 WSM

300 Win Mag

338

338 Lapua

375 and any comparable calibers.

Best ammunition for hunting blue wildebeest

Mkulu African Hunting Safaris preferred ammunition manufacturer is Barnes TTSX in just about any weight. You can use any weight projectlies depending on which weight projectiles have a constant better performance in your specific rifle. Other premium grade ammunition manufactures you can use would be Federal Premium, Sierra and others.

Best gun scope for hunting blue wildebeest

There are numerous gun scopes and gun scope brands available on the market today. It is our experience that the more costly gun scopes like Leupold and Swarovski optics certainly provide more light under darker conditions. However, if you can afford these optics is your choice. The single most important issue would be for the gun scope to be able to withstand the recoil once you squeeze the trigger.

A good 2 – 12 X 50 gun scope should be sufficient for hunting blue wildebeest in South Africa due to a wide zoom range and a long eye relief which will allow for greater flexibility to view the reticle quicker.

Average blue wildebeest shot distance

The average expected shooting distance when hunting Blue wildebeest in South Africa is 50 to 150 yards depending on the terrain you are hunting in. Another consideration is what time of the year you decide to hunt blue wildebeest.

Shot placement when hunting blue wildebeest

Broadside shot

For a heart shot the shot should be placed right on the shoulder in line with the front leg, slightly below one third of the way up from the bottom of the brisket to the top of the hump on the back. For lung shots, aim slightly behind the shoulder and stay within one third of the way between the bottom of the brisket and the top of the hump.

Quartering to shot

The shot should be placed at the spot where you bisect the angle formed by the front legs, aiming at the opposite shoulder at the same height as for a broadside shot.

Quartering away shot

The shot should be placed at the spot where you bisect the angle formed by the front legs, aiming at the same height as for a broadside shot. Do not shoot too far back to prevent a shot through the stomach contents.

Facing on shot

The shot should be placed where the bottom of the throat meets the chest.

Blue wildebeest shot placement diagram

Blue wildebeest trophy hunting pictures

Blue wildebeest hunting video

Tips on hunting blue wildebeest South Africa

To walk-and-stalk when hunting blue wildebeest is the traditional way of going about it. Larger blue wildebeest herds can be more difficult to stalk due to every member of the blue wildebeest herd being alert most of the time. Solitary bulls can become extremely wily and are very hard to hunt indeed. Bachelor herds of between 2 and 10 animals are common and are even more difficult to stalk. Archery hunting blue wildebeest is on the increase and in such a case you can hunt blue wildebeest from a hide or blind.

Extreme caution should be applied when on the final approach. Any sudden movements will attract the attention of a weary blue wildebeest and result in a no-hunt situation.

Best time of year for hunting blue wildebeest South Africa

Traditionally the bush in the best blue wildebeest hunting areas is rather dense during our summer months from November to April. From June to August the bush starts to recede rather quickly and during September and October the daily temperatures start rising while the bush recedes to a minimum.

The best time of year to hunt blue wildebeest in South Africa is twofold: firstly the blue wildebeest rut during the second week of April till about the second week in May (give or take a few days), and secondly, from late June to end October when the bush has receded most.